SOUTHWICK – The Board of Selectmen unanimously approved embarking on a book-recycling program at the transfer station.
Department of Public Works (DPW) Director Jeffrey Neece said he was approached by Discover Books to collect books at the station.
“The company is in the busi- ness of recycling books,” said Neece. “Some go to libraries, oth- ers are donated and if they don’t fall into one of those categories they sell them for paper recy- cling.”
Some books are sold online at discounted prices.
Neece said all types of books are accepted.
“Even encyclopedias?” asked Selectmen Russell Fox, jokingly.
Neece said any book could be dropped off in a donation con- tainer provided by Discover Books. The company collects the books, all free of charge to the town and donors. Neece said resi- dents must have a transfer station sticker to enter the station and participate in the program.
Board Chairman Arthur Pinell asked if the company was for profit and wondered if it was a problem if they made money off the recycling.
“From our point of view, we would just be recycling,” said Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart.
Selectwoman Tracy Cesan said she guessed the company did not make a lot and said the fact that books are donated is a good thing.
“I can’t imagine they’re a high- profit company,” she said. Stinehart suggested Neece moni- tor the program for several months.
“Jeff can evaluate it for a period of time and it can be put on hold at any time,” Stinehart said.
Neece said he thought it was “a good way to recycle books and give books to people who can use them.”
According to discoverbooks.com, “books exist to be read. Yet, many books collect dust on shelves, or live in darkened boxes. Even worse, it’s estimated that more than two bil- lion pounds of books become waste each year.”
Discover Books is one of the largest sourc- es of book donations to charitable organiza- tions in North America and is self-funded through online operations. The company does not accept public funding in support of its philanthropic, literacy donation endeavors.
